Health IT, Startups

Support for digital health startups is on the rise in Africa

Merck recently launched a digital health accelerator in Nairobi in what appears to be part of a growing source of support for telehealth entrepreneurs.

mobidawaThere’s been a push to develop mobile technologies to improve detection of counterfeit medication to improving access to healthcare in African countries. But Merck’s move earlier this month to launch a digital health accelerator in Nairobi  illustrates a more concerted effort, especially by big pharma companies, to support digital health entrepreneurs across the continent, according to Saravanan Thangaraj, research analyst for Transformational Health at Frost & Sullivan Africa.

Thangarai highlighted some of the programs to support digital health entrepreneurs in Africa.

Ampion, a non-governmental organization supports digital health entrepreneurs to launch business in Africa. Through their venture business initiative, it bridges the nascent stage startups and investors. Ampion is the first organization to initiate a program to accelerate digital health in Africa. It also provides the technology for innovation for entrepreneurs with the support of Merck, Microsoft, MTN and SAP.

Microsoft 4Afrika collaborates with Ampion to provide financial, technical and virtual mentorships for digital health startups in Africa. Through the MySkills4Afrika and Microsoft Virtual Academy programs, it assists entrepreneurs in taking their business solutions to market.

Open Medicine Project South Africa is a group of healthcare experts, mobile technology designers and application developers who aim to facilitate South African health workers through mobile technology. They focus on developing innovative, mobile information and decision support tools.

Philips partners with incubator and seed fund 1776 to support local innovators and digital accelerator labs in Kenya. Philips has developed an automated respiration monitor for diagnosis and treatment of childhood pneumonia in Africa at the innovation hub in Kenya.

Tech Lab Africa accelerator program — run by Barclays Africa — supports startups in the health and finance spaces in Africa.

Bayer’s Grants4Apps Accelerator allows entries from Africa for its mentoring program for digital health startups. The program offers funding and mentoring by Bayer experts and entrepreneurs.

What have you seen in the way of digital health development and use in Africa?

Many digital health solutions developed in Africa struggle to achieve a lasting change and significant return on investment. Lack of funding and feedback from the healthcare stakeholders are the common challenges faced by most of the digital health startups in Africa.

However digital health accelerators help new ideas to achieve a better value proposition by providing financial, technical and mentorship support to rise as a profitable business.

What types of technologies and specific applications have resonated and grown in use and what have yet to prove themselves?

The mHealth solutions in Africa supported by multinational healthcare companies generally focus on increasing health awareness and medical information.

For example Momconnect, a cellphone-based application funded by Johnson & Johnson, provides information and advice for pregnant women in South Africa. Mobidawa, a low-cost mobile technology backed by Merck (pictured), provides free on-demand medication information to patients in Africa. The mobile app also allows patients to set reminders to take medicine and have a digital prescription of their medication on their phones. The information collected through these applications can be used by the funders for business purpose.

Also there has been an interest in setting up mobile tele-medical centers by multinationals, like Samsung in Africa. The solution serves a dual purpose: it supports the business goals by developing a skilled workforce, branding and consumer base; while, at the same time, improving the health conditions of rural inhabitants of Africa.

Photo: BigStock Photos

 

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